Lancashire Heeler Blood Tracking

Lancashire Heeler Working Activities - Blood Tracking

The purpose of blood tracking is to use dogs to find wounded animals, such as deer, bear and elk. This usually takes place on a long lead. Reasons for use vary across the World. In some countries it may be as an aid to hunters of deer and bear. In others the practice is used as an aid to ethical cullling as in deer management in Scotland. Dogs are used to ensure that animal suffering is kept to a minimum.

As this requires highly trained, intelligent dogs, field trials are also becoming popular. Dogs suited to the task, unsurprisingly, are usually drawn from the hunting group and dogs whether bloodhounds or dachsunds compete.

Here Hanna Nilsson writes about her Lancashire Heeler Elsa, the Swedish and Norwegian Blood Tracking Champion. Congratulations to Hanna and Elsa on their success against very strong competition.

"In Sweden to become a bloodtracking champion you have to do a 'natural ability' test /'tendency' test first. This means that you can't start in the open class before you past the natural ability/tendency test.

Natural Ability / Tendency Test

This is a trail that is 2-5 hours old, 600 metres long, contains four right angles and a blood intermission for 10-15 metres on a straight distance. You have 30 minutes to complete the trail. At the end of the trail is a roe deer cloven foot. For a 600 metres trail we use 1/3 litre blood.

Open Class

In this class the trail is still 600 metres and again contains 4-5 right angles. The trail is 12-24 hours old and you have 45 minutes. Blood intermission is in an angle and on a straight distance and in a return in an angle. Over night there are plenty of animals passing the trail, for example. wild boar (pigs), elk/moose, deer, badger etc. The dog must concentrate on the right trail/track and not get tempted on a fresh one.

50 metres before the trail ends there is a gun shot test and see if the dog is able to continue the trail/tracking.